Legal Assistant

Job Overview
We are seeking a dedicated and detail-oriented Legal Assistant to join our dynamic legal team. The ideal candidate will provide essential support to three+ lawyers and contribute to the smooth operation of our office. This role requires strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Required Skills

The successful applicant must have:

• Excellent Microsoft office computer skills
• Word (including tables, mail merges, styles, tracking, formatting)
• Excel (including creating and editing spreadsheets, researching formatting issues and formulas, troubleshooting)
• Outlook
• PowerPoint (including formatting & editing, troubleshooting)
• Excellent Adobe Acrobat Pro skills, including ability to use security features, tabs and to create pdf briefs, and other submissions for filing with labour boards and tribunals
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Formal training as a legal assistant and/or experience working for a law firm or in-house legal department
• Knowledge of the labour movement and unions an asset
• Bilingualism (English/French) an asset
• Experience with Legal Tracker or similar case management software a strong asset

The successful applicant will be part of the union’s Canadian National Office and work in a team of six lawyers, an articling student and two Legal assistants.

Duties include:

• Providing legal support to three+ lawyers or up to six lawyers & articling student during times when other legal assistant is absent
• Administrative and organizational support for the work of the department, including lawyers' calendars, travel bookings and filing of expenses
• Using and understanding standard forms, procedural rules for filing, and related practices of various statutory tribunals such as Ontario Labour Relations Board, Human Rights Tribunals and Canada Industrial Relations Board
• Finalizing documents and arranging for service and filings in accordance with strict and sometimes overlapping deadlines
• Preparing and copying litigation materials precisely and on short notice
• Upkeep and filing of Board Certificates – electronically and manually
• Upkeep of legal library on a weekly basis, including interfiling subscription updates and tracking legal materials received and verifying accuracy of invoices from legal publishers; monitoring subscriptions for department (distribution, suspension, use & review)
• Binding documents into books with electric and manual binding equipment (requires standing for extended periods)
• Receiving and reviewing outside lawyers’ invoices for accuracy and compliance with USW policies and procedures (including reporting of hours and hourly rates); preparing all associated correspondence and reports and providing those to USW Lawyer and sending same to headquarters with memo from lawyer approving and requesting payment
• At the request of USW Legal Department, communicating with law firms about issues associated with billing, including accuracy and rates; communicating with headquarters about outstanding accounts and payments
• Drafting correspondence, editing and copy editing, formatting, finalizing
• Preparing affidavits of service and arranging for Process Servers
• Proofreading of legal and general documents, and documents from other departments
• Effectively using Outlook calendars to communicate, schedule and organize within department
• Assisting with schedules to ensure deadlines are adhered to
• Setting up conference calls & videoconferences (mostly using Zoom) and booking meeting rooms using Outlook
• Assisting with conference arrangements and registration (occasional travel opportunities)
• Sorting & distributing incoming department mail, processing outgoing mail
• Handling incoming and outgoing courier packages
• Assisting with collating and stuffing bulk mailings, and occasionally with office-wide outgoing mail
• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date electronic contact information
• Posting department documents and information to the website
• Monitoring website to ensure up-to-date info for the legal department
• Preparing responses to articling applications and all subsequent correspondence and binders needed during the application process each year
• Maintaining electronic and physical filing and storage system(s)
• Lifting and moving bankers’ boxes containing large files, while arranging file room and archiving files
• Opening new files, both electronically and manually
• Maintaining electronic records in database on-line and managing storage of thousands of archived files at Iron Mountain (sending, retrieving, reviewing for shredding)
• Maintaining confidentiality of files and information covered by solicitor-client privilege
• Scanning documents for electronic storage
• Photocopying, including occasional use of production copiers
• Maintenance of stationery cupboard, including facsimile, printer, and photocopier supplies & ordering supplies as needed
• Providing reception relief on a rotation basis, and as needed during absence of receptionist
• Providing general office support or support for other Departments as requested by or through Office Coordinator or Administrative Assistant

The successful applicant must have a professional and courteous personality, and respond positively to members, callers and visitors at the office. Must be capable of a high level of accuracy and the ability to prioritize in this deadline-oriented department. Collaboration, cooperation and the ability to work closely with other legal support staff are key. We require a willingness and ability to discuss, evaluate, initiate, review and revise procedures in a professional manner. Demonstrate a willingness to undertake training to learn new databases, software, or processes. Must be capable of maintaining confidentiality and security of documents, files and offices. Must be able to handle occasional receptionist duties in an effective and tactful manner, and to ensure security and protocol routines are adhered to. All department support staff are expected to use initiative and organizational skills to help ensure the department's smooth running.

USW is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from members of equality seeking groups, including women, people of colour, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, as well as members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.